Techy Bible Study

“Logos Bible Study Software”

Bible Study at the Speed of...well...your RAM

Bill Mesaeh / www.billmesaeh.com

I've gotten a few questions on how I prepare for my sermons, study Scripture, etc. Well, sermon prep is probably something each guy works through in a way that works for him. That's a process that grows with the preacher.

Seeing as how I never intend to grow up, nailing down my style is probably not possible. So, I'll simply give one timeless guideline that preachers never outgrow: start with the text and let the Bible tell you what to preach. It is dangerous to approach the Bible trying to make it fit an idea you have already decided upon in your head.

That said, once you've got a piece of Scripture that you want to work through, picking it apart and asking as many critical questions as possible is absolutely essential. Never stop asking, "why?"

• Why did he say that?
  
• Why is he standing there?
  
• Why did he NOT say this?
  
• Why is the crowd so angry with Jesus?
  
• Why is this group listening to him and the other group not?
  
• Perfect the art of being a perpetual 4-yr-old.

Where you get your answers to the endless string of questions depends on your resources. Mine: part dusty books, part Logos Bible Study software. It's a completely amazing digital library software system that catalogs and indexes thousands of books. One search properly done has the program spitting back hundreds of pieces of information coming from commentaries, topical books, original manuscripts, Hebrew/Greek grammars, maps, dictionaries, etc. A lot like drinking from a fire hydrant, the task then becomes deciding what to leave out.

There will never be a substitute for solid, deep Bible study perfected through a lifetime of devotion to God's beautiful word. But, there's no reason we shouldn't harness the power of technology to dig through Scripture. I spend approximately 15 hours in study time per sermon. Without Logos, I'd probably have to triple that if I wanted to achieve the same depth of study.

Not exactly a class in hermeneutics/Bible study, rather, this was a quick response to how I dig through Scripture each week. (4-yr-old comes separately.)

Excerpt from Logo's website:

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

in your service and His,

-bill

Six Months in Review

“Six Months in Review”

November Newsletter

Bill Mesaeh / www.billmesaeh.com

If my calculations are correct, Hannah, the boys, and I have been here six months now! In some ways, it’s hard to believe that much time has gone by. Then, when we look back at all that has changed for us in the past six months, it begins to feel like years since we left Korea and pointed our wagon toward Defiance. So, I thought it would be fun to do a quick review of our time here so far and then look toward the future of DCC.

Our first priority was obviously finding a home, and that took longer than we expected. Even though we were comfortable and well taken care of by George and Joyce, I didn’t want them to claim us on their taxes. So, Gary Reis spent countless hours driving me around and showing me an endless number of homes. After a while, they all started to look the same. Add in the fact that I was searching solo (remember, Hannah stayed behind for a while), and we found ourselves quickly wanting to make a purchase. Finally, a home in our budget presented itself 2 miles from the church, so we jumped on the opportunity and have been happy ever since. A lot of work and time have gone into the home so far, but we now feel moved in well enough to entertain and invite all of you to come by for a visit. Plans are in the works for an all-church open house as well. More on that to follow as Hannah makes the arrangementsJ.

Even larger than the purchase of our first home was the birth of our second son: Elijah Alan Mesaeh. He came to us this July, born right here in Defiance making him a native Buckeye! William has adjusted wonderfully to being the older brother and is usually “helpful” around the house.

As if this weren’t enough, our summer and fall were rounded off with VBS, trips to tour Lake James, chaperoning a CedarPoint trip, 16 Baptisms!, joining the Air National Guard as a chaplain, seeing my life-long best friend get married (finally!), Relay for Life, church picnics and kickoffs, planning and construction for The Well, etc. Many of you have had us in your homes, and we greatly appreciate that. It has helped us feel very welcome here. I would also like to thank Bryan for taking the time to introduce me to so many seniors and help me become familiar with places like Laurels, Twin Rivers and our local hospitals.

Now that we are moved in and settled down, I would like us as a church to turn our attention toward growth and expansion into the community. 2010 will be an exciting time of planning and preparation as we look to intentionally target and reach the church of tomorrow. I am very blessed and excited to be a part of this congregation, and I ask all of you to unite for the cause of expanding Jesus’ kingdom through DCC.

in your service and His,

-bill

Perfect Unity

“Such Perfect Unity”

October Newsletter

Bill Mesaeh / www.billmesaeh.com

Our brotherhood of churches is currently celebrating a very important milestone. Two hundred years ago, in October 1809, Thomas Campbell wrote the Declaration and Address. This was the founding document for what came to be known as the Restoration Movement; today we simply call ourselves independent (or non-denominational) Christian churches. This desire to avoid “denominationalism” comes from one of Jesus’ most heartfelt prayers for his church:

John 17:21-23
²¹I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. ²²“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. ²³I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

Campbell’s intent with the Declaration was not to start another Christian denomination; it was the exact opposite. He saw “bitter jarrings” and a “[political] party spirit” as the cause of so many different divisions in the church Jesus died to establish. Worst of all was the nature of the issues causing division. In Campbell’s words, “Our differences, at most, are about the things in which the kingdom of God does not consist, that is, about matters of private opinion or human intervention.”

It was in this spirit that Campbell launched a Movement to Restore the Church to its simple, most primitive New Testament principles. The driving desire: let us never break fellowship or allow division within our Christian family over issues of no theological importance. Over time, an important phrase rose up to describe this way of thinking:

“In essentials, Unity. In non-essentials, Freedom. In all things, Love.”

As we celebrate our bicentennial, let us restore in our hearts this simple yet powerful creed. We would do well to notice Jesus himself saw unity among believers as the single greatest force attracting nonbelievers to the church! Thank you all for your love of Jesus and desire to bring others to Him.

That the World May Know,

-bill

To read the Declaration & Address, go to www.billmesaeh.com

Faith and Science

This is an excerpt from an email discussion I got in a few months back with some clever, well-intentioned skeptics, seekers, evangelicals, and stoic believers. I don't remember the entire context, but I remember the following question prompted my response.

If anyone wants to reply and get a discussion going, I'd be happy to jump in.

[How much faith is enough faith?]

To put it in context, the faith consistently linked with salvation is faith in Christ as he said he was. Struggling doubts about whether Jonah was really in a fish (or whatever) are not the real issue.

Although, I think all of it rests on an a priori decision as to God’s intervention in human history. If one can accept a theistic concept that allows supernatural intervention on the part of an omnipotent God, the resurrection, a man inside a fish, intelligent design, etc. pose no problem. However, when one makes an a priori decision about the impossibility of the miraculous, the reverse holds true. I keep using the term a priori b/c I see the decision made apart from science; in other words, science need not be an influential factor in the decision. An omni-whatever God isn’t limited by science, time, human logic, etc, (nor—and this is my point—our ability to logically combine them all).

If there’s an underlying assumption that science will eventually explain the then previously-assumed miraculous, then they never were miraculous and there be no need for theism. Empiricism and rationalism** then become the necessary (a priori) filters through which we force our entire worldview. The problem I have with the approach is that it makes no concession for the fact that empiricism/rationalism stands as the agnostic/deistic version of theism's faith.

Both worldviews require you to get behind (as in, before you contemplate) the issues and first decide what your test/criteria for truth is going to be. If today’s version of science or tomorrow’s new archaeological discovery “proves/disproves” my current assumptions, does that now make them wrong? Or, am I able to merge God’s divine intervention into a world he created with an explanation from the laws of physics that he created as well? Do I even have to do that? If I hold to the possibility of an omni-whatever God, could he assemble all of everything to appear as he would want it to be? Given Darwin’s (or pick your favorite agnostic/deist) concession that science can’t answer the question that faith says it can, where does empiricism/rationalism depart from faith? Either way, you’re still picking your First Cause.

-bill

**Don’t read this and assume I have a problem with the scientific method or things simply “making sense.” I simply recognize the limitations of science and human reasoning, and I find faith in these human faculties just as much a wager as my faith in the God of theism. Insert Pascal’s wager here.

Bad Things, Good People, yada yada

This is a discussion board to get us started. Anyone can chime in with questions, comments, etc. Feel free to ask/post anonymously if you that would make you more comfortable.